Having not read the books, I still don't know what they cut/added/changed for the film. That being said, I really enjoyed the extended cameos (Nathan Fillion as Hermes, Stanley Tucci as Mr. D aka Dionysus) than the main characters. They leave things open for another sequel, but like the Chronicles of Narnia series, this is most likely going to fade out - which is too bad, because this is really good way to introduce mythology to the masses - but it just doesn't stand out enough in the YA world to make an impact.